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California regulators consider charge on text messages

The Associated Press
Published 2:15 p.m. ET Dec. 12, 2018

FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2011 file photo, a driver uses a cellphone while driving in Los Angeles. California regulators are considering a plan to charge a fee for text messaging on mobile phones to help support programs that make phone service accessible to the poor. The Mercury News said Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018, the proposal is scheduled for a vote next month. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)(Photo11: DAMIAN DOVARGANES/AP)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California regulators are considering a plan to charge a fee for text messaging on mobile phones to help support programs that make phone service accessible to the poor, according to a newspaper report Wednesday.

The proposal is scheduled for a vote next month by the state Public Utilities Commission, the Mercury News reported.

The wireless industry and business groups have been working to defeat the plan.

"It's a dumb idea," said Jim Wunderman, president of the Bay Area Council business-sponsored advocacy group.

"This is how conversations take place in this day and age, and it's almost like saying there should be a tax on the conversations we have."

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2009 file photo, a cell phone owner begins to write a text message on his cell phone in Los Angeles. California regulators are considering a plan to charge a fee for text messaging on mobile phones to help support programs that make phone service accessible to the poor. The Mercury News said Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018, the proposal is scheduled for a vote next month.(Photo11: MATT SAYLES/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

It's unclear how much money individual consumers would be asked to pay their wireless carrier for texting services under the proposal, the newspaper said. But it is likely would be billed as a flat surcharge — not a fee per text.